Switch-operating mechanism.



No. 680,020. Patented Aug. 6, I90I. F. A. CARROLL.

SWITCH OPERATING MECHANISM.

(Application filed Nov. 27, 1900.).

(No.IIIodaI.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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No. 680,020. Patented Aug. 6, I901.

r. A. CARROLL. SWITCH OPERATING MECHANISM.

(Application filed Nov. 27, 1900.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED A. CARROLL, OF PENN YAN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HENRY B. TURNER, OF SAME PLACE.

SWITCH- OPERATING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Fatent No. 680,020, dated August 6, 1901.

Application filed November 27, 1900- Serial No. 37,867. (No model.)

To all whom tit-may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRED A. CARROLL,a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Penn Yan, in the county of Yates and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Switch Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in devices designed to be carried by a street-car for operating railway switch-tongues and also to operate a connection between switch tongues; and the object is to provide a simple device for this purpose that may be easily operated by a motormau or other person on'a car-platform, and,.further, to provide a simple switch mechanism not liable to get out of' order or to be rendered useless by water, snow, or ice.

I will describe a switch-operating mechanism embodying my invention and then point out the novel features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a car, showing a device embodying my invention as applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view and partial section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 2, but showing the parts in a diiferent position. Fig. 4 and 5 are sectional elevations showing the switch mechanism in different positions. Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1, but drawn on a larger scale; and Fig. 7 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line 7 7 in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates a rod movable vertically through an opening in the platform of the car and guided by a brace 11, extended from the car. Loosely mounted on the rod above the platform is a collar 18, and surrounding the rod, arranged one within the other, are two springs 12 and 12*, which connect at the upper end with the collar 18 and at the lower end with a collar 18*, rigidly attached to the rod. These springs are wound in opposite directions to take the thrust in either direction of the shoe on the lower end of the rod. Extended from the collar 18 is an arm 13, designed to engage in any one of a series of notches 14, formed ina segmental block 16, attached to a plate 17, to hold the shoe at a desired angle.

The shoe attached to the lower end of the rod 10 consists of longitudinally-curved arms 19 and 20, the outer ends of which extend toward each other. These arms are made of spring metal, and to relieve the arms from undue shock when engaging with the shifting devices springs 21 are arranged between the arms and a rod 22 extended from the rod 10.

The switch comprises two switch-tongues 23 and 24, connected by a rod 25, which extends through a boxing 26, arranged in the bed of the track. A tappet-arm 27 extends upward from the rod 25 through a slot in the top wallof the boxing 26 and has connected to its outer portion a roller 28. Within the boxing a spring 29 connects at one end to the rod 25 and at the other end to a fixed part within the boxing 26. As here shown,this fixed part consists of a block 30, attached to one of the side walls of the boxing. Pivotally connected to this block 30 is an angle-lever 31, having a portion designed to pass upward through a slot 32 in the upper wall of the boxing. From the lever 31 a link 33 extends to a connection with the rod 25, and this rod, with the angle-levenserves to ternporarily lock the switch-tongue in one position, as will be hereinafter described-that is, when the switch-tongues are in the position indicated in Fig. 5 the connection of the link 29 with the angle-lever 31 will be on a plane below the pivoted point of said anglelever, and the portion of the lever extended through the slot 32 will engage against the end wall of said slot, thus locking the parts in position.

In operation it is to understood that there will be an operating-rod 10, with its parts, at each end of the car. In Figs. 2 and 3 I have designated the shoe carried by the front platform as A and the shoe carried by the rear platform as B. The parts being in the position indicated in Fig. 4 and a car traveling in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 3, the shoe A when turned to the position indicated in Fig. 2 will engage with the roller 28, and as the shoe passesl along it will shift the switch=tongues 23 and totlie position indicated in Fig. 3, and during this movement ofv the switch-tongues a portion of the angle-lever 31 will be moved up through the slot 32,1ocking theswitch-tongues inpos'ition,'as before described, and then as the rear shoe B approaches it win'en ag meteward projection of the angle-lever 31, swing- .ing it sufliciently to pass the connecting-point of the link 29 with the angle lever to a plane above the pivotalpoint of said lever, and then the spring 29 will throw the switch.- tongues to their normal position or to the position indicated .in Fig. 2, Of course "at this l time the upwardly-extended portion of the angle-lever would be turned into the slot -31 and below 'th'e top plane of the boxing. When a car is moving in theoppo'site direction, the shoes will be reversed as to their angle and T: will operate in the manner above described. When not in use, the shoe may be held el'e-r va'ted bjyfdrawing up the rod 10 and engaging 3 the arm 13 on the top of the stud 13 at the '1 center of the row of notches. v It is to be understood that c anges in 'def tail of construction may be made without de- 5 parting from the spirit of my invention Having thus described my invention, I; claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a switch-operatingmechanism, a rod I; movable vertically through a car-platform, j means for holding the rod in it's aXially-ad- I justcd position, springsfor taking the -thrust of the rod in opposite directions, a "shoe car- I ried on the lower end of saidrod, andvaswitch tongue operated by said shoe, substantially as specified V 2. A switch-operating device, comprising a verticallymovable rod carried by a car, a shoe on the lower end of said rod and com prising longitudinally-curved members con= verging at their free ends, a brace extended from the rod; and compression-springs arranged between said brace and the shoe members, snbstan'tially'as specified. 3. In a switch mechanism, a swinging switch-tongue, a switch-rod connecting there= Vvitlna boxing in which said rod is movable, a tappet extended upward from the rod through an opening in the top of the boxing, an anglelever pivoted inthe boxing and having apor' t ion movable thronghthe opening in the top of thebonin'g, 'a spring connectedat one end to said rod and at the other endto'a'fi-xed part of the boiling, a link connection between the angle-lever and said rod, the connecting point of the link with the angle-lever being adapted to fall below the plane of the piv- *otal point of the lever and form-a lock for the fswitch tonguegand means carried by-a ear for operating the rod, substantially as speci- I In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

A FRED A. CARROLL.

Witnesses .7

GEORGE H. EXCELL, I. A. UNDERWOOD. 

